Writ of Habeas Corpus

California Criminal Defense & Appeals Attorney – (213) 255-3011

A writ of habeas corpus is a legal proceeding designed to bring a party before a court to test whether they are being held lawfully. Often the writ accompanies an appeal or is filed after an appeal to bring to the court issues that could not, and were not, part of the appeal. The Law Offices of Kenneth H. Lewis has over 42+ years’ worth of experience in filing writs of habeas corpus both with criminal appeals, and on their own.

What Exactly Is a Writ of Habeas Corpus?

After someone has been convicted by a judge or a jury in a trial, they are entitled to a direct appeal to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal will normally consider any legal mistakes that were made during the trial and if errors were made will reverse the case and send it back for a new trial or if errors were made in sentencing, send the case back for resentencing, usually with instructions as to how the trial court should resentence the defendant. However, sometimes mistakes that were made were not part of the trial record.

For example, a defendant may have instructed their attorney to interview a key witness who could testify that the defendant had an alibi, but the attorney never bothered to do so. Perhaps there is new evidence that has been found since the trial occurred that could not have reasonably been discovered during the time of the trial but would prove the defendant’s innocence. Since neither of these situations were, or could have been raised at the trial, they cannot be part of the direct appeal, which is restricted to what happened during the trial.

Each of these issues could, however, be raised by means of a writ of habeas corpus and if successful, could lead to a new trial and a finding of innocence. That is what Kenneth H. Lewis can help you with. There may even be the possibility of filing a writ of habeas corpus in the federal courts if proceedings in the state courts have been unsuccessful.

Keeping the Criminal Justice System Honest

There are arguably few things worse or more unconstitutional that wrongful imprisonment and confinement. With the help of Attorney Kenneth H. Lewis and a properly created writ of habeas corpus, you can demand justice and release from unjustified and unfair imprisonment. Thankfully an appeal may not be your only and last recourse for justice and release.